I had a best friend in middle school. Our birthdays are two days apart, except I’m a year older than her. For two days every year, we would joke that we were the same age. It was one of those silly little things that probably didn’t mean much to anyone else, but we made something of it between us. We stayed in touch over the years and would meet up occasionally, even way after high school and college. When I still lived on the East Coast, it was relatively easy. We weren’t even in the same state, but we were close enough that staying connected didn’t require much effort. At least, we were in the same time zone. Then I moved to the West Coast in 2019, and somewhere along the way, things changed. I wouldn’t say we outgrew our friendship. There wasn’t a falling out or some defining moment when we stopped being friends. We just naturally drifted apart. We rarely talk anymore, sometimes going long stretches without speaking at all. Somehow, this tradition has survived all these years. I don’t even remember when it started. Maybe it was when we couldn’t wish each other a happy birthday in person anymore. Every year, on her birthday, I send her a text message. Two days later, on mine, she sends one back. That’s it. We don’t necessarily talk before or after. There’s no catching up or long conversation. Just a birthday text, two days apart, every year. There are those birthday wishes you get on social media because the platform reminded someone that it’s your birthday. I’d like to think this is a little different. We have this silly little tradition that we’ve kept up despite the distance, despite the years, despite the fact that we barely talk anymore. I always wonder how long we’ll keep doing it. Today is her birthday, so I sent the text. Now I wait to see if, two days from now, mine comes back. 📌 I think I jinxed it. I did not get a Happy Birthday text this year. Comments If you'd like to comment, please send me an email, or sign my Guestbook. Skoo.bz: I don’t allow other people to post on my Facebook wall. This means on my birthday, people have to figure out another way to say something. Some just use Messenger. But, I’ll get a select few who will take the time to text me and I always weight those texts differently. There’s minimal effort in a text, yet there is because someone took the time. Anita Lewis: This is so interesting to me at the age of (very nearly) 80. It's more than 2 days from yours and a bit more than a year. Thinking about patterns like this begun and let go over my life. How long will it last? Probably as long as you keep doing it, because you are the first one to send each year. I wonder what would happen if you did not send, but I wouldn't want to be the one who ended it. Maybe someday you'll forget. Or maybe someday she'll forget who you are. Well, for sure, someday it will stop. Loura: I do something similar with a friend. We are three days apart. Going on 35 years of wishing each other “Happy Birthday” Reply by email